Samuel russell



s. RUSSELL.

ELECTRIC GUN.

(NO NIO-del.)

SAMUEL RUSSELL, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO ARMS AND AMMTTNITION COMPANY, OF NFV YORK,

THE AMERICAN ELECTRIC iv. LY.

ELECTRIC GUN.

SPECIFICATION .forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,070, dated October 21, 1884-.

Application filed Iebruaryl, 1884. (No model.)

T all whom, may concern:

I e it known that I, SAMUEL RLfssnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the c1ty of Brooklyn, inthe county of Kings and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Guns, of which'the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to those guns or tirearms wherein the charge is fired by electricity. An electric cartridge is employed, the charge of powder being in contact with an ineandeseing conductor or high resistance wire in the cartridge, the terminals of `which conductor are connected, respectively, with the metallic base ofthe cartridge, andwith a central metallic contact insulated from said base.

The object ol' my invention ist-o provide a gun for tiring such a cartridge which shall be sanferainore convenient,-and more positive and ettective in its action than elcetrie guns asl heretofore made.

Figure l. ot' the accompanying drawings is` a vertical longitudinal section of thebreeeh of a donblebarreled shotgun constructed ac. c ordlng to my invention, the plane ofthe section passing through the axis of one of the barreis and through the center ot' the stock. lfig.

. 2 is a longitudinal sect-ion eut along the line 2 2 in Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrow 2 therein. Fig. 3 is a section 0f the preferred form of electric cartridge to be used with my gun appended to a diagram showing the electric circuit. g

.lhe cartridgeA (shown in Fig. 3) is the same as that described and claimed in another application for patent executed by ine this day, to be filed simultaneously herewith. vlts distingnishing l'eatnre is that the metallichase ot' the shell forms one terminal of the incandescing conductor, and the other terminal thereofis centrally arranged and insulat cd from the base.

Let (o designate the metallic shell, and I the central comluctor,which is a metal pin or rod, and is inelosed ina tubular insulatiiig-sheath, c. At its front end is connected the incandcscing conductor d, which consists ofa short piece of line platinum wire, and the other end of this conductor is joined to a conductor, e, which consists o1' a strip of copper, which certain in its action and entirely free passes along the outside of the sheath c and joins the metallic base a. The base ofthe car-- tridge comes against the breech block B, which is connected througha wire, j', with 55 one pole of thc battery C, and the other pole of this battery is connected b v a wire, g, to a tiring pin or bolt, l), of metal. The battery is usually placed in a mortise in the buttend ofthe stock, the wires j' o passing through a 6o hole orholcs therein to the breech. Then it is desired to tire the cartrh ge, this firingpin is pressed forward until it touches and makes electrical contact;- with the pin b in the cartridge, whereupon the circuit is closed, and the current, in passing through the platinum conductor, heats it to incandescencc and ignites the powder.

lrior to my invention theonly electric guns known or suggested for tiring by means of an 7o incandescent wire, so far as l am aware, have been of two classes. In one the `cartridge con tains aplat-ina wire, one terminal of which connects through the barrel and breech with one pole of the battery, and the other pole of the 75 battery is connected with a tiri ugpin or sharp needle, which, when pushed forward by pulling the trigger, penetrates the cartridge or charge of powder until it touches the other terminal of said platina wire, whereupon the 8o current is established and the gun is fired. In guns of the other' class the cartridge has had two exterior contact-terminals, both of which have made connection with corresponding eontacts on the gun upon elosing the breech, and 8 5 the latter have formed the terminals of an open circuit, to be closed by a push-button or key in order to tire the gun.

My invention aims to provide an electric gun which, while simple in its parts, shall be 9o from dan- To this end l employ the tiring-pin to ger.

with the center ofthe make electrical contact l cartridge, instead of penetrating the latter,

and l provide antoxnaticmcans for breaking the circuit leading to the battery, so that neither pole thereof shall be electrically connectcd with either terminal ot' the cartridge, and

for locking the trigger, so that it is impossible to discharge the gun after it has been loaded 10o until it has been prepared for tiring by a distinct preparatory movement.

improved gun adapted as a shotgun, as shown in Figs. l and 2, first stating, how ever,'that my gun is entirely hammerless, resembling externally the so-called hammerless guns 7 or interna1-ha1nmer guns, and being constructed internally in some respects similarly thereto.

Let E E designate the barrels, F the stock, and G the breech. The gun is a breech-loader, and is provided with theusual fastening for holding the barrels rto the breech when turned up, consisting of hooks h h on the barrels, engaging a sliding bolt or frame, H,wliich is operated to release the hooks by the usual unlocking-lever, I, on top of the breech. The bolt H is pressed forward by a spring, J, on a rod, j, as usual. The breech-block B is` solid with the breech, and is formed with `two conical holes, in which are fitted tubular conical plugs K K, of insulating material, which form bearings for the firing-pins D D. The point of the cone is turned toward the front, -so that but a small orifice is made iu the face of the breech-block. Each`plug K is held in place by a ring-shaped frame, 7.1,.of' metal, which takes against a shoulder on the plug, and is forced toward the front by two screws, i z', Fig. l. Back of this ring la the plug K is reduced in diameter, and over it is placed a helicalA spring, L, which is 11e-enforced against a shoulder, Z, on the plug, and presses hackwardly against the head ofthe ring-pin D. The rear surface of this hcadis covered with an insulation, m.

T T are the triggers, or, more correctly, firing-levers. Externally these are the same as i on any ordinary gun, but internally each is formed with two arms, M and N. The arms M M extend up to the respective firing-pins l) D, where their ends vrest against the insulating-caps m m. Then either trigger is pulled, the arm M pushes-its firing-pin forward agai-nst the resistance of the until the point of the pin touches of the cartridgeand fires it.

spring L the center The springs L L I serve as trigger-springs in addition to their function in 4retracting thefiring-pins, and should have sufficient stiffness to give the requisite pull to the trigger. The arms N N of the two triggers extend rearwardly, and their ends are turned up, as shown at n. in Fig. l. Underneath the top plate ofthe breech is arrangedv a slide, P, which has a limited movement forward and backward. Onv this slide is au arm, Q, which projects downwardly to the ends n ofthe arms N N. When the slide P is moved forward, as shown, the end of Q does not interfere with the ends n a, and the triggers may be pulled as denoted by dotted lines in Fig. 1; but when the slide l?l is moved to the rear, the end of the arm Q comes directly over the ends 'a n of" both arms N N, and the triggers are locked and cannot be A pulled. This is the safety lock of the gun.

It is operated by means of a roughened button, R, on the top of the stock, arid when moved either forward or back itis held there by the spring p acting against a V-shaped projection, q, on the slide.A When the un locking-lever I is turned to permit the barrels to be broken down, the backward movement of thc bolt H pushes back the slide P, and so sets the gunto safety Thisis done by the pin j,which moves with the bolt H, j

striking and pushing back a shoulder, r, on the slide P. After being loaded the gun cannot be fired until'the button R has-been pushed forward. The manipulation of the gun is thus the saine as of the well-known hammer-less gun before referred to. i

In addition to the mechanical safety-lock t-o keep the trigger frombeing pulled, I provide as an additional safeguard thatwhenever the slide P is drawn back to safety the electric circuit shall be broken at some intermediate point, in addition to the break between the firingpin and the cartridge. In this manner I entirely' isolate the battery from both terminals of the cart-ridge, except when the gun is ready to bc fired. On the linside of the stock is fixed a contact-stop, t, Figs. 2 and 3. and a spring, s, is attached to the opposite side, passes in front of the' arm Q, and terminates with a contact-pin-facing the stop t, as shown in Fig. 3. VVhent-he slide P is moved back, this spring does not touch the stop t, and the circuit is broken between them,

as shown in Fig. 3; but when the slide-.islv

pushed forward the arm Q presses the spring against the stop, as shown in Fig. 2. The spring and stop form part ofthe wire f, as shown, (in preference to the wire g,) in order to break the connection between vvthe base of the cartridge and battery.

When my gun is first loaded and the barrels are turned up, it is impossible to discharge it, because the triggers cannot be pulled and the cartridge is not in electrical connection with either pole of the battery. Vhen the slide is pushed forward, the triggers are released, and one terminal ofthe cartridge is connected with IIO one pole of the battery; and rwhen the trigger the battery, thc circuit is established, and the cartridge is exploded. g

My invention is equally applicable to single'- barreled guns, and may, with slight modification, be applied to rifles and magazine-guns.

I clainr as my inven-tionl. In a gun for firing electric cartridges, the combination of a battery, the breech-block in electrical connection with one pole thereof, a normal break in such connection, va movable part upon the exterior of the gun adapted to `close said break, a firing-pin insulated from said breech and in electrical connection with the other pole of the battery, and the trigger adapted, when pulled, to protrude the firingp'i-n into electrical connection with the cartridge, whereby when the gun is set to safety both poles of the battery are disconnected from 4the cartridge, substantially as set forth.

2. In a. breech-loading gun forfring electric y one electric terminal on the cartridge, of afiring-pin cartridges, the combination ot' a battery, a tiring-pin in electrical connection with one pole thereof, tbe trigger, adapted, when pulled, to protrude the firing-pin until itv makes electrical contact with the cartridge, the breech block insulated from said pin and in electrical connection with the other pole of thebattery, a circuit-break in said latter connection, a slide adapted to open or close said break, the unlockingllever for opening the breech, and mechanical connection between said lever and said slide, substantially as described, whereby the said slide mustbe nioved and the said break opened before the barrels can bc broken down, so that when the gun is irst loaded neither terminal of the cartridge is in electrical connection with the battery, as set forth.

ln a gun for tiring electric cartridges, the combination, substantially as set forth, with the breech-block adapted to make contact with insulated front said breech-block, a battery with its opposite poles connected, rcspectively, to said breech-block and tiringpin, a trigger adapted, when pulled, t protrudesaid tiringpin and make electrical contact between its end and the other electric terminal of the cartridge, .in order to explode the latter, a retracting-spring adapted to press back said tiring-pin and trigger, and a mechanical safety lock, substantially as described, adapted to prevent the protrusion of said vfiring-pin until it is withdrawn.

4. ln a gun for tiring electric cartridges, the combination of breech-block B, tiring-pin D, battery C, with its opposite poles connected, respectively, to said breech-block and firingpin, trigger T, having arms M N, safety-slide P, having arm unlocking-lever I, bolt H, adapted, when retracted, toV shift slide P t0 the lockedposition, and circuit-breaking spring s, arranged to be operated by said slide, substantially as set forth.

Q, adapted to llock the trigger,

5. In an electric gun, the combination of the breech-block, .adapted to make electrical contact with the base of the cartridge, a conical plug, K, of insulating material, iitted in a conical hole through said breech, with its smaller end toward the barrel of the gun, a fastening device taking against a shoulder on the larger end of said plug and secured to the breech, a tiring-pin, D, working in a hole through said plug, and aspring for retracting said pin, interposed between a head or shoulder thereon and the rear of said plug, substan` tially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my naine in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL RUSSELL.

Vitnesses:

ARTHUR C. FRASER, ARTHUR S. BROWN. 

